Summer Mail Art Received

I received this lovely mail art envelope from Lynn in Canada this week.  It is just perfect! 

The theme of this mail art exchange was "summer".  I love the cute birdhouse complete with a bird!









The back is especially cute!  The watermelon look good enough to eat!  And I just love the ants marching across the envelope.












The inside is lined with a lovely floral fabric, and Lynn included a post card and wonderful chart!

Thank you, Lynn, I love it all!

My mail art envelope is being mailed this weekend, and as soon as it is received by my partner I will post pictures.

Birthday Mail Art

I was assigned Antje to a Mail Art for her Birthday, July 31st.  Luckily, Antje is in Fort Hood, Texas, so I could make sure it got there in time.  The chart is by Sue Hillis, on her Dessert of the Month, part 1 leaflet.
 









I am happy to report that it arrived the day before her birthday, and she liked it!












I even found fabric the said 'Happy Birthday' for the lining, and stamps that sort of matched that fabric that said 'celebrate'.

Disney Themed Mail Art

Why all the mail art?  I am part of a Facebook Mail Art group.  Members are all German, living in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the US.  It is a great way for me to practice my German with people other than 1st graders!  There are monthly themes, and members can choose to participate or sit out for each round.  A recent round was entitled "Disney" and here is what I stitched for my partner.






Unfortunately it still hasn't been received.  I don't understand the mail system, both here in the US and in Europe.  Some mail art pieces arrive in Europe in 5 days, others take up to 6 weeks!  And....my own mail carrier refuses to deliver registered mail to my mail box, I have to go the post office to pick it up, which isn't really convenient for a working girl.

I received this from the same person I was to send too, which doesn't usually happen, but it's okay.









  Petra did a great job and I loved the chocolates that she enclosed.

Easter Mail Art

  

    Quite some time ago, I showed you the Easter Mail Art that I received.  At that time, the one I stitched had not yet been received.  It arrived a few days later, but I am finally getting around to posting pictures.   Of course, I did put stamps on it, but I took the picture before the stamps. 

The fabric that I used for the background is the same fabric that I used to line the mail art envelope.  My partner reported that it arrived in perfect condition.

Easter Mail Art

 My Easter Mail Art arrived!  All the way from Germany!  It is lovely! 

Thank you to Ivonne for stitching it! 

The one that I stitch hasn't been received yet.  I will show you pictures once it arrives at its destination.

A Special Birthday Envelope!

I received a birthday mail art from Antje in Fort Hood, Texas a few days ago! 















The back of the envelope has a QR code, and when I scanned it with my phone, I got the message "Happy Birthday"!  How creative!

Inside the envelope was a birthday card, a bookmark to stitch, some floss and some DMC charts!

Thank you Antje!

Mardi Gras Mail Art

I received a lovely piece of Mail Art in the mail the other day, all the way from Germany.  The theme of this mail art round was "Fasching" or as we know it: Mardi Gras. 

It was beautifully stitched and constructed, but Maria was afraid to send it through the mail, so she put it in an envelope.  Although she put a stamp on the stitched envelope, it wasn't cancelled.  It was lovely to received none the less.

This is the piece that I stitched for the exchange and sent to Michaela in Austria.  I wanted to portray an American Mardi Gras, and finally found the chart that would work.  Imagine my surprise when I found great Mardi Gras Fabric for the lining at my local JoAnn's!

Michaela hasn't yet received the envelope and I hope it gets there faster than the one I sent to German right after Christmas.  That on took 6 weeks!

Christmas Mail Art

 Shortly before Christmas my Christmas Mail Art arrived from Germany.

 Birgit did a lovely job on the Mail Art envelope.

She also included a post card from where she lives. 

I also sent a piece of Mail Art to Germany, but Jana hasn't yet received it.   I fear it has been lost, so I will start stitching a replacement soon.



Mail Art Sent

 I just received word that the Mail Art piece that I sent has been received!  It arrived in Germany without a single speck of dirt or dust, in pristine condition.

I am a bit annoyed with myself.  I had intended a different finish for the envelope which would have centered the motifs better but I was in a bit of a hurry when I was doing the construction and I 'forgot' what I originally intended.  It was too late to re do it, so.....it went off in the mail a bit lopsided.....

edited to add:  the motifs are from It's Autumn, and older chart by Sue Hillis!

Mail Art Received

 I was asked to join a German Mail Art group on Facebook recently.  The first exchange that I participated in was a fall themed exchange. 

I received this piece in the mail this weekend.  Sabine did a beautiful job of stitching and constructing the envelope, unfortunately, she was afraid to put it in the mail, so she put it in another envelope to mail.  It doesn't have stamps on this piece or the cancelation.  I must say that I am a bit disappointed, as the stamps and cancelation give the envelope character. 

A Recent Mail Art Finish - Just in Time for the 4th!

Happy 4th of July!  The Mail Art piece I sent out recently was a patriotic piece for the 4th of July and has now been received so I can show you what I stitched on it.

The front of the "envelope" shows some fire crackers from the Sue Hillis It's Summer chart.  The alphabet is from a freebie by Victoria Sampler.   The address is her business address, so don't worry that I didn't block it out. 

The back shows a birdhouse that is from the Sue Hillis Life and Liberty chart.  The same alphabet was used on the return address.

The inside was lined with fabric that had firecrackers on it, and I enclosed a postcard of Chicago. 

To say the Sue loved it is an understatement!  And she reported that it arrived in perfect condition.

 

 

 



Mail Art Class

Saturday's class at the retreat was a class on Mail Art, taught by yours truly!  I stitched up a new piece of mail art to demonstrate the finishing of a mail art piece done on stitch banding, but I can't show you the piece until the recipient gets it in the mail.  I promise to post a picture just as soon as it is received.

The class itself was well received and a lot of fun to put together.  Hopefully I have inspired everyone to create a piece of mail art of their own!

Patriotic Mail Art

I was involved in a Mail Art exchange recently, and here is the piece that I stitched for Marie. 

The design on the front is from Sue Hillis' It's Summer Chart.







The design on the back is from Sue Hillis' Liberty chart.  The fabric I used for the lining has fire crackers on it.

I enclosed a postcard of Chicago and two skeins of Weeks Dye Works Americana floss.

I hope Marie likes it!

Sunflower Mail Art

Now that Julie has received the Mail Art that I sent to her recently, I can show all of you!

I just love it when everything matches! I first found the stamps, then the fabric for the lining, and those were my inspiration for the stitched envelope.

I am not too happy with the back, but I just couldn't find something else to stitch there that fit the theme.

Mail Art for Kim!

In a recent Mail Art Exchange on the Threads of Life board, I was given Kim's name to send my piece to. Now that Kim has received it, I can show you some pictures!

This is the front of the envelope. I used some stitchband to stitch on.

The front of the envelope had a design by Just Nan, and back had just the lady bugs from that design marching across the envelope.

The inside was lined with lady bug fabric.

It was a fun exchange and made it through the mail in pristine condition.

Mail Art Arrived

I opened my mail box today, and found this lovely stitched envelope from Cynthia. This is part of the Mail Art exchange on the TOL board. Cynthia stitched a lovely, cheerful spring piece for me and finished it expertly!

Inside, she have included some postcards from where she lives, and lovely greeting card, a pocket calendar and some really cute frog buttons!

I still need to finish my piece to send off to my partner. I will post a picture once it has been received.

Thank you Cynthia, I really love it!

Christmas Mail Art - a bit early!

My partner received her Christmas Mail Art from yesterday, so now I can post a picture for you.

The motifs are take from Sue Hillis' Gingerbread and Company booklet and It's a Country Christmas, also by Sue Hillis. I stitched on 32 count Putty Belfast linen, with DMC floss.

I stitched a matching mini-ornament on 14 count vinyl weave.

I think Carolyn likes what I stitched for her. I am still waiting for my Mail Art piece to arrive.

Mail Art Recently sent

Now that these Mail Art pieces have been received, I can share some pictures.